Faculty & Administration
Professor Dr. iur. Siegfried Wiessner, Professor of Law, Director, LL.M./ J.S.D. Program in Intercultural Human Rights, St. Thomas University College of Law; Chair, International Law Association Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2008-2012).
Professor Dr. iur. Roza Pati, St. John Paul II Distinguished Professor of Law; Director, LL.M./ J.S.D. Program in Intercultural Human Rights; Founder & Director, John J. Brunetti Human Trafficking Academy, St. Thomas University College of Law. Former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Member—Secretary of State for Youth and Women, in the government of Albania. Member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2012-2017), Member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (2020-Present), The Vatican.
Faculty and Guest Lecturers
Each year, we bring on campus some of the top experts from leading institutions for the protection of human rights. As a mentor of the entire program, we recognize:
Professor W. Michael Reisman, Ph.D., Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law, Yale Law School, former President, Inter-American Human Rights Commission
Additionally, our students have the honor of learning from many distinguish scholars and practitioners, including:
His Excellency Judge Dr. Fausto Pocar, Professor of International Law Emeritus, University of Milan, Italy; Member, Appeals Chamber, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (since 2000); President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (2005-2008); and former Chairman, United Nations Human Rights Committee (1984-2000)
His Excellency Ahmed Amin Fathalla, Chair, United Nations Human Rights Committee (2021); Member of the International Law Commission
The Honorable Virginia Bras Gomes, Chair, United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2018); Senior Social Policy Adviser for the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security of Portugal
Professor Federico Lenzerini, University of Siena Faculty of Law, Italy; Rapporteur, International Law Association Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2008-2012)
Ambassador (ret.) Marisa R. Lino, Political Scientist, RAND Corporation; Associate Fellow, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2020-2022); Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, DHS (2007-2008); U.S. Ambassador to Albania (1996-1999).
Dr. Craig Hammer, Program Manager with the Development Data Group at the World Bank, and Manager of The World Bank’s Global Data Facility
Professor Dr. Abadir M. Ibrahim, Associate Director, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School
Professor Jaime Olaiz-González, Professor of Constitutional Theory, International Law and American Jurisprudence, and Associate Dean for International Programs, Universidad Panamericana Law School, Mexico City, Mexico
Professor Nicholas Rostow, Distinguished Research Professor & Director, Center for Strategic Research Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, Washington D.C.
Professor Dr. iur. Markus Krajewski, Director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, New York City
Professor Christine Jeangey, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Officer, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, The Vatican; Expert of the Holy See, Steering Committee for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CDDH)
Professor Dr. Cosmin Corendea, Professor of law and Vice-Dean, School of Environment and Sustainability, O.P. Jindal Global University (Delhi, India); former Associate Academic Officer and Legal Expert, Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University; and former Legal Officer for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Professor Tebaldo Vinciguerra, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, The Vatican
Professor Gordon Butler, Professor of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law
Professor Emeritus and former Dean John Makdisi, S.J.D. & Ph.D., St. Thomas University College of Law
Recent eminent guest lecturers from the international human rights community include:
Professor Dr. iur. Eckart Klein, Professor Emeritus of Public Law, International Law and European Law, University of Potsdam, Germany; Member, United Nations Human Rights Committee (1995-2002)
Professor Nora V. Demleitner, President, St. Johns College-Annapolis; Dean & Roy Steinhauser Professor of Law, Washington & Lee University School of Law (2012-2015)
Professor Francesco Francioni, Professor Emeritus and Co-Director, Academy of European Law, European University Institute, Florence, Italy; former President, UNESCO World Heritage Committee
Professor Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, D.Phil. (Oxon.), Professor of International Refugee Law (1998-2014) and Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford University, U.K.
Professor Tiyanjana Maluwa, Ph.D. (Cantab.), H. Laddie Montague Chair in Law & Associate Dean for International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law; former Legal Counsel, OAU (now African Union) and former Legal Adviser to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Professor Dr. Keith D. Nunes, former Program Coordinator, M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Nathan Weiss Graduate College at Kean University
Professor Daniel Wilkinson, Managing Director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch, New York City
Professor Dr. Mark Dell Kielsgard Associate Professor of Law, City University of Hong Kong
Professor Elsa Meany, Senior Program Officer, Center for Justice and International Law, Washington, DC
Professor Alfred R. Light, Ph.D., Professor of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law
Dr. rer. oec. Toni Pfanner, former Chief Legal Advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross; now ICRC Representative in Singapore
Professor Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Washington, D.C.
